---
title: "Purchase order"
description: "What is a purchase order? A buyer's formal, numbered order to a supplier. See what a PO contains, why its number matters and how POs are revised."
url: https://1flux.ai/glossary/purchase-order
last_updated: 2026-10-10
---

[Procurement and inventory](https://1flux.ai/glossary#procurement-and-inventory)

# Purchase order

What is a purchase order, and why does its number follow the goods all the way to the invoice?

Glossary Updated 10 October 2026

Definition

A purchase order (PO) is a buyer's formal, numbered order to a supplier, stating the items, quantities, prices, delivery and payment terms it agrees to buy on.

## What is a purchase order used for?

Once the supplier accepts it, the PO becomes the reference for everything that follows: the supplier’s delivery note, your [goods received note](https://1flux.ai/glossary/goods-received-note) and the supplier’s invoice should all quote its number. It also commits spend and tells stores what to expect. Changes after issue are usually made as numbered revisions with a reason.

Example: a paint distributor issues PO 2207 for 600 tins at GBP 11.50 each plus tax, for delivery in 10 days.

In the UAE and Saudi Arabia the printed PO is often called a [local purchase order](https://1flux.ai/glossary/local-purchase-order), or LPO; see [LPO, PO or LPR? Purchasing documents explained](https://1flux.ai/blog/lpo-vs-purchase-order-vs-lpr).

In 1flux

Purchase orders can be priced or placed without a price, move from Draft to Issued, Receiving and Closed, and can be revised with a reason, short-closed or cancelled. Priced orders print as a “Local purchase order”. [See purchase orders](https://1flux.ai/products/purchasing/purchase-orders)

1. Requisition: Approved . Nothing posts.
2. RFQ and quotes . Nothing posts.
3. Compare and award . Nothing posts.
4. Purchase order (PO-2026-0012) . Nothing posts.
5. GRN check-in: Checked & approved . Nothing posts.
6. Goods receipt report (GRR-2026-0074) . Posts Dr Inventory , Cr GRNI.
7. Purchase invoice (PI-2026-0033) . Posts Dr GRNI, VAT , Cr AP.

Procure to pay in 1flux: the purchase order sits between the award and goods receiving.

Related

## Keep exploring

### [Local purchase order](https://1flux.ai/glossary/local-purchase-order)

The Gulf name for a purchase order sent to a supplier.

### [Goods received note](https://1flux.ai/glossary/goods-received-note)

The stores record of what arrived, from whom and in what condition.

### [Three-way match](https://1flux.ai/glossary/three-way-match)

Checking a supplier invoice against the PO and the receipt.

### [Purchase orders (LPO)](https://1flux.ai/products/purchasing/purchase-orders)

Priced or unpriced orders, VAT per line, revisions with reasons and a report of what's due.

Last updated 10 October 2026